Donald Trump’s USAID shutdown disrupts global humanitarian efforts
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People protest against the administration of US President Donald Trump's decision to virtually shut down the USAID at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2025. — AFP
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When the Trump administration began on January 20, Ann Lin was a senior community health adviser at the president’s malaria Initiative (PMI), aimed at malaria through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). To compete.
With two decades of dedicated services in the 30 Sahara African countries, Lin found his work “incredibly important” and “completion”.
However, within a week of the new presidency, his career took a dramatic turn.
On his first day, Trump signed an executive order that stopped new promises to US foreign aid, which effectively stopped key partnerships for ongoing health measures.
Just four days later, the current foreign development aid intensified with 90 days of frozen. The order was ordered to review the allocation of relief, which raised concerns about the future of life -saving programs in the region.
In the heartbeat, Linn, who was doing it, stopped. Community health care workers who cooperated with them in countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Cameron stopped their activities. Pipelines have been stopped moving life -saving malaria medicines from manufacturers to a difficult population.
The USAID’s website fell into the dark, as the PMI website did. And then on January 28, with another 390 colleagues, Lin lost his job.
“I have not been stunned in my life more than anything in my life,” he said, “I do not know that anyone can probably justify it. The cruelty and the waste of all of it. “
“My whole department, everyone is professionally known, has only become a vapor with the worrying stroke of the pen.”
The life of children is at risk
The PMI’s website has now been read: “This website is currently undergoing maintenance in accordance with the president’s executive orders as we have reviewed all the content fast and well.” Then it is redirected to the USAID website.
When the cable was first sent out, Lin and many other US aid workers were confused, now any doubt of doubt is over. The USAID website now contains the same page.
“On Friday, February 7, 2025, 11:59 pm (East) All USAID direct renting personnel will be placed on a global administrative departure, which includes important mission functions, basic leadership and special In addition to the exception of the designated programs, the designated personnel will be released. “
Employees were prevented from entering the agency’s Washington, DC, headquarters on Monday, and now the future of USAID is in the hands of billionaire Elon Musk, who monitoring its performance. Has been assigned Musk has called the agency a “criminal organization” and claimed that it was now “the time to die”.
A portion of Lin’s work was to inform Congress about the impact of PMI, which was falling into the fight against malaria, which tried to ensure that the money was being spent well. Access to PMI’s latest report through the Wakeback Machine website through the archive version. It says the move has helped to save 11.7 million lives and 2.1 billion malaria since 2000.
“Malaria is very seasonal, as mosquitoes flourish in the rainy season. For children, there is a precise timeline to plan such as beds and to plan things like rescue drugs. Will make, if it is exactly, “Linn wrote in a Facebook post that was shared more than 2,000 times. “Children… will die unnecessarily.”
USAID literally saved lives. The agency monitored foreign aid, rescue from destruction and international development programs.
And although foreign aid is less than 1 % in total US federal budget, the country is still the world’s largest donor – which supports $ 4 out of every $ 10 of humanitarian aid. According to the UN, the United States provided about 42 % of all humanitarian aid to the organization in 2024.
Frontline aid workers and ordinary citizens who rely on US financial -powered programs are among those who are suffering.
To help help save people affected by deadly diseases through USAID-to access clean water and cleaning, or support economic measures, or offer agricultural aid, or To offer agricultural aid, everyone is obstructed due to a break. And since some countries are tired to fill the funding gap, many people do not have the money to do so.
Looking for new donors may take years, and long delays will affect non -profit organizations that rely on the grant to perform their work.
The work that Lin did to help fight malaria was just part of the extensive efforts made in the desert Africa, the largest regional recipient of US aid.
Now USAID’s Acting Leader, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, issued an additional exemption of stopwork orders worldwide for “life -saving humanitarian aid” during a three -month review period on January 29 –
It states that financing of life -saving medicines, medical services, food, shelter and provision will continue. But neither Lin nor his comrades on the ground resumed their activities.
Health and humanitarian groups around the world are still uncertain and how they can continue to work, and whether their programs have been included under exception.
“This is an absolute mess,” said Marx, a senior Middle East lawyer in the refugee international. ” “All the organizations that received stopwork orders need to talk to USAID what it all means … but there is no one in the second line to answer.”
“If Ukraine, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, faces a massive increase in exemptions coming from Africa, who decides who is saving life and who is not? Will? ” The signs breathed.
“It’s like that [the Trump administration] Thought all USAID had to support abortion and give condoms. “
A shock for Ukraine
Ukraine has also been shocked by the Trump administration’s decision to stop USAID programs. The United States was a key partner in numerous plans on the ground, which included regional humanitarianism program, anti -corruption efforts, development aid and media support for the restoration of veterans.
Many local communities rely on aid or donor support to fund health, education, energy, agriculture or infrastructure measures.
But since Russia attacked its full scale in February 2022, the Ukrainian budget deficit is increasing and the government is limited to the number of projects that can help through its funds.
This is the case with independent media outlets, which is based in Kiev. According to its director, Dennis Bahas, “fifty percent of our funds are funded from USAID.”
He acknowledged, “In the end of January, we received numerous letters from the organization that handled our plans with USAID that all of them would be stopped. This was not the day that was about to accelerate my life, But it was difficult. ” Immediately after the news came, Bahas called for new users to show their support and the answer was “very pleasant”.
“Still, that money will get us in just a few weeks,” Bahas admitted.
Due to the ongoing war and the widespread grip of the Olagrechs, there is a constant threat to the media scenario, where the Ukrainian newsrooms are being silenced in Russian -occupied areas, many shops that were already hanging from a thread. Now they are not sure they will survive.
“The frozen completely eliminated regional media. Small teams all over Ukraine who were monitoring the local budget or such things … were already living a difficult life,” Beihs explained.
“Now I think many teams will have to find something else because people need to eat. Ukraine is losing experts. It will probably never come back.”
Although military aid for Ukraine has not been stopped, Behus insists that the US funding uses to reduce the effects of war in areas like the Energy Sector, which has been repeatedly targeted by Russia, all of which More important than.
“I am thankful that people are talking about the effects of Ukrainian media,” Beihs said. “But most of it is provided to the state … for many important things.”
Due to the war, Bahos never planned more than two months ago. Now he hopes that he will be able to pay for the next three months to pay for his 35 employees’ team savings to increase the review period.
“We will try to survive,” he said, “Ask me again how we are doing at the end of March,” he said.
